Brother
by hollywar
Summary: WICKED was almost flawless - almost. What they didn't quite understand was the undying bond that siblings shared. What they didn't catch was that she remembered her brother, and she was ready to do anything to get him back. But who was the boy with dishevelled blonde hair, and why did he leave such an impression on her?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hi folks - this is my first Maze Runner story. I am trying as much as I can to not make this your typical MarySue fiction. This story holds a lot of the love I share with my little sister, as in no one messes with my baby sister except me. Anyways, this is out of my comfort zone in writing, seeing as I'm new to the community. I've read all the books and watched the movie as well, and I mean… who wouldn't fall in love with Newt as a character? Even before Thomas Brodie-Sangster killed it in the movie, Newt was my favourite while I was reading the books. This is why we have another Next/OC! Hope you all enjoy!**

**Brother**

**Chapter One**

The air returned to her lungs in an audible gasp as she felt the metal box come to an abrupt halt. Between the pure confusion and sickly humid air, it wasn't a shock that she stumbled around in the complete darkness as scrambled into an upright position.

A loud pang was violently ringing and she had to wonder – was she deaf? Her head was pounding, and she could feel the blood pumping furiously throughout her body.

Where was she?

Trying to regain her bearings was an almost impossible task, but she couldn't deny the fact that she felt closed in. She was definitely in a small space.

"_Listen to me, Noah," she said as she grabbed the small boy by the shoulders. It pained her to see the fear etched on to his face. It gutted her that the fear on the little boys face was practically permanent in their situation the last few weeks. "Listen to me."_

_At the sound of his older sisters voice becoming almost pleading, the little blond headed boy stopped his movement and looked at her. She was the closest thing that he had as a mother – she was his everything. He loved his older sister, and she had taken care of him and protected him from everything. _

_Until now._

_He nodded, swiping at the tears falling from his eyes, frustrated that they were there to begin with. He needed to be strong; he knew that. He couldn't let his sister know just how terrified he really was that he was being taken away from her. He couldn't let her know that he was crying because the thought of never seeing her again was unbearable. _

"_Noah," she began, swiping the tear he had missed with her thumb. "I don't know how I'm going to find you." _

_She paused, and shushed the young boy as he became worked up over her realization. She gave him a stern look, and he slowed his breathing down. _

"_I don't know how I'll find you," she started again, lifting her chin to look down at him as she realized that he was going to let her finish. "But I will."_

_He grabbed onto her shirt collar, his little hands turning white from the grip he had. His blue eyes shone in panic, and it took everything within her to keep him at arms length. This little boy was her upmost world – he was the reason she lived. _

"_I know you're scared, baby." And at that the tears he had bravely been holding back crashed around his irises and she couldn't refrain from pulling him in towards her. He sobbed in her neck, as she felt her own eyes stinging. "But you have to be brave, okay? You have to be brave for me."_

_They were sitting on a sterile white bed. Everything around them smelled of hospital, and had it not been such a heart breaking moment, she would have gagged at the scent. _

"_Noah," she started again, refusing to let her voice break. "I'm scared too. I don't want our memories to be swiped either. But you know it has to be like this."_

_He nodded, still not certain that this really was the way it had to be. Hell – she would be lying if she was completely on board with this… this inhumane trial they were about to be apart of. But this was the last and only option that she knew would save her baby brother._

_She pulled him back, looking at his face. His small, delicate face. She wasn't sure what would force her to be strong, to keep going every day if she forgot this face. As snotty and worked up as it was at the moment. _

_They were both dressed in hospital gowns, and she knew that it wasn't going to be easy to get him to lie down while the doctors erased his memory. But she had to – she had to let WICKED do what they needed to do in order to keep Noah from becoming sick. _

"_Calm down," she urged, retracting her emotions. "I'm going to find you, and we are both going to be fine."_

_But somewhere, in the back of her mind, she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to keep that promise._

Suddenly the hatch of the small box she was confined in opened, and she had to close her eyes at the sudden sting of light. Whoever had opened that door had obviously not thought of her going blind – but she was relieved when the loud noise had been cut at the opening of the door.

So she wasn't deaf, but she was definitely now blind.

Opening her eyes again, she looked up and saw quite a few eyes staring back at her. Her quick inhale of finally fresh air hurt her head, but not as much as the loud clang of heavy soled boots hitting the metal of the box she was still in.

Standing beside her, or towering over her, stood a young male with shaggy blond hair. He was tall, lanky, and was looking at her with wide brown eyes. He looked shocked – and somewhere in the back of her mind she was confused as to why he was the one who was confused.

He wasn't the one, who just magically appeared in a box, now was he?

"It's a girl."

She could hear the commotion begin above her, but she didn't pay much attention. The only thing she could let herself think about was Noah. _Where is my little baby brother?_

Narrowing her eyes at the male who stood before her, watching as he quickly tried to get his head around that she was, in fact, a girl. She recognized his accent, but she couldn't remember where it was from exactly.

It hit her like a ton of bricks, nausea causing her to shake her head in an attempt to remember something – something other than Noah.

Panic soon followed as she realized that she couldn't even remember her _own name_.

"Hey, woah there Greenie," the boy started, obviously seeing the sure panic and confusion written across her face. "It's okay, we won't hurt you."

"I want out of here." Her voice came out raspy, and it was foreign to even her own ears. Throughout the whole memory of her and Noah, she could only remember how his little voice seemed so broken – she could only focus on the fact that she had failed as a big sister.

The blonde boy nodded, "Alright, then. Up you go."

He hefted her up without waiting to see if she would deny, but she refused to grab onto the dark skinned hand that came down into her view as he lifted her by the waist. She grabbed the edge of the dirt and hauled herself up, ignoring the buzzing of voices around her.

Standing, she looked around to see at least forty teenaged boys staring at her like she had two heads. And maybe she had two heads – she wasn't quite sure. But as she stared back at the boys she was really only looking for one face in particular.

She was denied when a dark skinned male, reeking of authority stood in her view.

"Welcome to the Glade, Greenie."

She decided she wasn't too fond of this boy, and as she felt the feet of the blonde boy hit the ground beside her, she turned back to him. He was a little confused, and pursed his lips at her.

"Where am I?"

She had cleared her throat before, but it was still raspy. _That must just be your voice._ It still felt weird, considering she didn't know what her own voice was supposed to sound like.

The blond headed boy looked behind her, undoubtedly at the dark skinned boy who she decided she didn't like, before he looked back to her. "Hi Greenie, I'm Newt. And this is the Glade."

Newt.

Why had she almost thought he was going to say Noah? But as she glanced him over, she knew it couldn't be her Noah.

Noah.

She ignored what the boy who just identified himself as Newt was saying to her, as she scanned her eyes over the boys who stood closely around her. They were all very dirty – they all looked as though they had been working quite furiously before she had made her appearance in what they kept calling the _Glade_.

They were all of different skin colours; all had different facial features and different colour hair. There were no similarities between any of the boys as she looked for a little boy with blonde hair and blue eyes.

She realized there were quite a few, but stopped when she looked at a certain one.

The boy was by in no means _little_ anymore. He probably stood at her own height – even though she didn't know how tall she was. He had little muscles protruding from his dark blue shirt, sweat visible on his face and neck. His blonde hair was dirty, but his blue eyes shone in confusion as their eyes locked. Why was this crazy girl staring at him?

She found it almost impossible to look away from him.

From _Noah_.

She recognized him – and he had no idea who she was. There was no recognition in his big blue eyes, and she felt a pang of hurt course throughout her whole being. _Why did she remember him, but he couldn't remember her?_

"Greenie," the dark skinned boy stood in front of her again. "Let's go."

She looked back at the boy who called himself Newt, and he gave her an encouraging nod to follow, so she scrambling after who she assumed was their leader. But not before looking back at her little brother again.

This time, he didn't look at her. But from the way he was behaving she could tell that he really didn't remember her. He had been so young when they had swiped his memory – that in which she could remember. It had probably been easy to erase everything from the little boys mind; he had been so tiny and fragile.

But as she stumbled after the dark skinned boy like a deer that was beginning to walk for the first time, she realized that no amount of doctors could swipe the unconditional love she had for her brother away from her mind.

…

After the official tour of the Glade had come to and end, she decided she was going to stick with her first impression of not liking this boy who introduced himself as Alby.

Maybe she had been a rebel before she wound up here, not really knowing who she was. But it hadn't taken her long to figure out that she wasn't fond of rules he seemed to be so fond of.

All she could think about was seeing Noah.

How was she possibly going to talk to him without the rest of these boys knowing that she wasn't completely void of all her memories – in which Alby had told her was the norm around here. He had explained that all forty-three of them had shown up not even knowing their names.

She didn't know her name, no. But she knew Noah. And she was itching to bring him into a tight embrace and never, ever let go again.

"You're not like most Greenies, it's the end of the tour and you're not asking questions yet."

"_Shush Noah, no more questions, you just have to believe that I will find you again."_

"Do you have a mirror?" She asked, her raspy voice still surprising her as she heard it. At such a different voice, she couldn't understand why she wouldn't remember it.

Alby laughed, and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"I'll take you to the Homestead, Greenie. I think there's a mirror in there."

She nodded following behind him as he lead the way to the shack that they called the Homestead. It was mostly just a poor excuse of a building, thrown together with bits of wood that were mismatched and uneven.

He led her up the stairs and pointed to a room. "Should be a mirror in there Greenie. Take as long as you want. But tomorrow you start working."

She forced herself not to role her eyes, and let herself in the room leaving the door to shut quickly behind her. She needed to be alone for a moment to get herself back together. She needed to figure out how she was going to be in the same… Glade as Noah and keep herself together. She needed to figure out how she wasn't going to play the protective big sister role – because that's all she really knew what to do.

She didn't know her name, but she knew she had to protect her baby brother, dammit.

The 'mirror' was just a broken shard of what she assumed used to be a mirror. Picking it up, she had to be careful to not let the sharp edges run along her skin, which now as she looked at it looked quite pale.

She looked in the mirror, not really knowing what she was supposed to be looking for. But as she saw someone staring back at her, which was obviously herself… it didn't do anything to help her memory.

All she could see was a young woman with shoulder length, wildly curly very blonde hair. Her eyes were nothing to be amazed about, either. They were a dark, dim shade of grey. Nothing amazing like Noah's eyes were. Her eyelashes were thick and long, tickling her cheeks when she scrunched up her face. Faint freckles covered the bridge of her cheeks and nose – but nothing that sparked a memory of who she was before about an hour ago.

Moving the shard of mirror down so she could see the rest of her body did nothing to lighten her sour mood. She was wearing a female version of what all the boys had been wearing. It actually resembled Noah's quite a bit – a long sleeved navy shirt with brown pants, and work boots. She could feel the heavy soles of the boots, and came to the realization that they were most likely the cause of her stumbling.

That and she had no idea where the hell she was.

Or who she was.

And Noah didn't know who she was.

Heavy soled boots that probably added a few extra inches of the height that she was – in which she couldn't judge standing in the room with a very low ceiling.

The mirror had been a lot less explaining than she had hoped it would be. Yet she didn't put it down, studying her features further.

She had high cheekbones, and if she didn't have rather large eyes she was sure that she would have been the most unappealing creature she had ever seen. Her nose was quite small, and she wondered if she would call herself dainty. Her hands were small, and so were her feet – but she had hips that swayed out, and her breasts didn't seem to lack in the small department either.

Who _was_ she?

Her lips were small, her bottom lip jutting out a bit larger than her top – and they were chapped. Suddenly she took note in that she was thirsty, extremely thirsty.

But how could she possibly leave this room and face the other boys outside, and be able to contain herself when she laid eyes on her brother again?

Her examination of herself was cut short when she heard heavy, uneven footsteps followed by a curt knock on the door. She carefully set the mirror shard down as the door opened, and was slightly relieved when it was the boy Newt, and not Alby coming back to 'put her to work', as he had explained was very important around here.

The boy with shaggy blonde hair smiled at her slightly, noticing that she had been looking at herself in the mirror. "No worries, Greenie. We all went through it."

She nodded, pushing back her hair from her face as she faced him. "Why do you keep calling me that?"

"You must be hungry, yeah?" He ignored her question completely. Something that had been happening quite a bit around here. "Let's go get you something from Frypan."

"Just water would be fine," she replied, following him out of the shack they referred to as the Homestead. But to her dismay her stomach suddenly erupted in fits of gurgling noises, to which Newt laughed at.

They walked in silence until they reached what looked like another poorly constructed hut. She could see a dark skinned boy stirring something in a large pot, plopping in things to which she assumed was vegetables.

So she knew what vegetables were, but didn't know her own name?

Newt turned to her then. "Why don't you go sit down, and I'll go get something from Frypan? He already doesn't like people showing up between meals."

She nodded, narrowing her eyes at the boy before she watched him walk over to him with a slight limp to his step. She sighed, retreating to where he had pointed out. She didn't know what this place was, but she figured if she were going to stay here peacefully she would have to learn to listen to these boys.

"_NO, NOOOO, NO DON'T LET THEM!" He screeched, grabbing onto anything of his sister that he could as the doctors pushed the little boy down on the bed. He flailed around, and succeeded in breaking her already broken heart into tinier pieces. "NO DON'T LET THEM TAKE ME!"_

_She had to pry the little hands off her arms, hearing the fabric of her shirt protest as he grabbed on to her again. "Noah stop! You have to calm down!"_

"_NO SISSY! PLEASE DON'T LET THEM TAKE ME AWAY FROM YOU!"_

"Here you are, Greenie. Frypan said to not make a habit of it," he passed her a sandwich, and a cup of water. He smiled at her as she looked up, but his eyebrows came together at her gaze.

"Emily. My name is Emily."

Newt smiled, nodding his head towards her. "Nice to meet you Emily, but your name is still Greenie."

She shrugged her shoulders – they could call her anything they wanted. All she wanted was to eat, so she did. She polished off her sandwich and downed her water before Newt had started his second halve.

"I thought water would be just fine?" Newt laughed, handing over his other halve of sandwich to her. "We were all hungry when we came out of the box too."

As she swallowed another bite, she took a moment to take in Newt. "So, do you know everyone here?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "There's about forty of us – Alby is the one who knows exactly how many. I try I guess."

Her attempt at getting him to talk about Noah had miserably failed. She had to try another angle, yet she had no idea how to do that without exposing her knowledge. And throughout the tour, she had figured out that none of them knew anything – what would they think of her coming here and knowing Noah?

**…**

After the initial shock that the massive stone walls moved and closed them all in for the evening, she clutched the sleeping bag Newt had passed her close to her chest. She couldn't pass the feeling that she was stuck here, and it turned her already unsteady legs into limps of jelly.

"Are you sure you don't want to take a room in the Homestead, Greenie?" Newt asked as she trailed after him like some sort of lost puppy. He had stuck close to her the rest of the day, showing her the Glade in more depth than Alby had in the initial tour.

"No," she replied. She was already confined inside what seemed to be a square, with massive walls surrounding her. The last thing in the world she wanted right now was to be stuck in a room of that shack.

"Well I'm not sure if it's appropriate for a girl to be sleeping out here with the likes of all these bloody boys," he said, turning around the flashing her a small sad smile.

Not only was being thrown in the mess of this already confusing enough, but she also had learned that she was in fact, the only girl.

When Newt had muttered that to her as he lead her into the Gardens, she had a moment of panic course throughout her body. Had other girls shown up here and been killed? Had they popped out of the magic box and been taken into a dungeon somewhere for the personal use of the forty some boys here?

Newt must have noticed the panic though, because he had quickly explained that she was the first girl that he had ever remember seeing in his life. So she had pushed the inhumane thoughts out of her head. They were all only teenage boys – teenage boys in which consisted of her brother.

"No worries, though," He stopped setting down his sleeping bag on the grass under a particularly beautiful tree. "I'll keep guard."

She laid out her sleeping bag, ignoring his last comment. From looking in the mirror today she had realized that maybe she was small, but from the scars that scattered her knuckles, she doubted she would need anyone to protect her. Funny how she could remember what fighting was; but couldn't remember fighting.

Despite everything, she had begun actually liking Newt. They didn't talk much, and she liked that he was comfortable with her silence. All she needed right now was someone to show her around, and then leave her alone to think and ponder about her current situation. Silence really was a virtue that not everyone was lucky to be granted with.

Alby didn't seem to realize that, and neither had any of the boys that they had sat with at lunch. They had all tried to get her to add her into their conversations, but between not understanding their odd dialect and looking around for Noah, she hadn't been interested.

Newt was the only one who didn't bother speaking to her, and she decided that she would be forever indebt to him.

She lay down, staring up at the perfectly grown tree, trying to get the thought of Noah out of her mind. If she soon didn't find an excuse to come in contact with him she was going to go crazy. How could he not remember her? He was her everything.

Newt turned his head over to her. "Hey Emily, I know it's all a bit much. But you'll know things sooner than later."

She turned her head to him as well, almost unable to see his deep dark irises in the night. "You called me Emily."

He smiled a smile that she quickly noticed defined the boy to a T. He turned his head back to look up at the sky between the branches. "Don't get too used to it, Greenie."

She forced herself to pick the corners of her mouth up a bit. She couldn't let it show that she was having internal turmoil. "Wouldn't think of it."

He laughed, and she wondered why it sounded so great to her ears.

"Get some sleep, I have to show you something in the morning."

She didn't need to be told again, and rolled over so her back faced him. Her mind surprised her as she quickly fell into a dreamless sleep – forgetting about her heartbreak for a few hours while her body recharged.

**TBC**

**Please leave a review! Looking forward to hearing from you all.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: So lately I've been really into writing; I seem to have spurts of the creative juices. This story is a result. Things start to tie in together in this chapter, so I hope you're all ready!**

**MagicalNinjaUnicorn - Thanks soooo much! I'd like to think I have improved my skills over the last year or so, but it is honestly so touching that someone thinks I have some potential! Trust me, I know exactly what you mean. There is nothing more disappointing in a story where the characters develop too fast; I don't plan on that happening. Thanks for the tip, and I'm glad you're excited and I can't wait to hear what you think of the next chapter!**

**Guest - Thanks, I hope you enjoy this next chapter! **

**Chapter Two**

"Wake up, Greenie."

Startled, her eyes flew open to see a pair of dark eyes looking down at her. The intruder had his hands planted firmly on her shoulders, nudging and shaking her awake. Call it instinct; call it stupidity on his behalf, but her knuckles made swift contact with his high cheekbone. She heard the crack of the hit, and winced as she recognized where she was and who was on the receiving end of her hit.

"Bloody hell shank," Newt cursed grabbing his face. He doubled back, sitting on his knees with a good amount of distance away from her. "You're lucky you're a girl."

Emily's face turned all different shades of red, and she was grateful that it was still dark outside. Even though she was regretful and embarrassed, the quick reaction explained the scars that scattered her knuckles – a look into her life before she entered the Glade.

She stood, crouching in front of him. "I'm so sorry."

Despite the forming shiner, he gave her a small smirk. She suddenly realized why she had taken to this boy almost immediately. "You've got one hell of a swing."

She laughed, and the raspy sound even startled her – it was the first time she was hearing her own laugh. It was a rather strange realization, and she bit her lip to contain the foreign sound.

He looked so distraught as he stood that it made her feel ten times worse for laughing.

"Right then," he started, still clutching his face. "If you're done beating the bloody klunk out of me, I have something to show you."

She nodded, following along behind him. What a way to start her second day in this new place. If she could remember anything about her former life, she knew she probably didn't have many friends. Hell, she had probably just ruined any makings of a friendship with Newt. The thought not only pained her, but terrified her as well.

She had to pull herself together.

They reached the edge of the Maze without taking much time. Newt took long quick strides there, and since she had just corked him in the side of the head she didn't protest. Not that she would anyways, even with her much smaller frame she hadn't had a problem keeping up with the boy who had a much more noticeable limp than she had first recognized.

They came up to a small window, no bigger than the size of a shoebox, and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. A window? It seemed a little unreal even to her. And at this point, anything seemed possible. And how could she remember the size of a shoebox? What was a shoebox?

"Take a look." Newt thankfully cut off her internal turmoil.

She looked as his face, grimacing as she took in the slowly swelling cheekbone. She really needed to catch ahold of herself. There had been no need to go about hurting him – he was one of the only people in this place that she didn't detest.

Moving her eyes away from him, she obeyed his order to look through the thick glass window. All she could see was stonewall covered in leafy vines that disappeared into the darkness of the sky. She wondered if this was some sort of punishment to make her look stupid.

There was nothing to look at.

She looked back at Newt, who stood with his arms crossed with no emotion on his face or in his eyes. "Look closer."

So she did. She stood so her feet were perpendicular to the wall of the Glade that was keeping them all confined in here, craning her neck to the point where her nose almost touched the frosted looking glass.

She could hear a faint noise that sounded like an odd combination of whurring and clicking, but she still didn't understand what she was supposed to be looking at. The stonewall was beginning to bore her as she strained her eyes to see what he was so adamant about her seeing.

Maybe her vision needed to be corrected. She vaguely thought of 'glasses', but couldn't exactly picture what they were. She didn't think anyone in the Glade had glasses – or if they did she hadn't noticed them in her rather impromptu entrance.

Suddenly a glob of horrid hairy membrane with sharp machinery arms protruding from its base slugged by. It was a horrifying sight as it came closer and closer to the window. She began to back up but the terrifying creature launched itself at her before she had a chance to closer her eyes. Its teeth clunked against the glass as its mouth grabbed onto it like a leach.

With a yelp of pure terror, Emily pushed herself away from the wall. She landed with a thud at Newt's feet, breathing hard. Her heart raced and was in her mouth; sweat broke out on her forehead. What in the heck was that?

She shivered, and looked up into Newt's solemn expression as he watched her wither in fear. He ignored the creature on the other side of the glass, but there was an unmistaken hint of fear behind his dark irises. "That's why we cannot go outside of the Maze walls."

…

She had scrambled back after Newt to her sleeping bag where she now sat, knees tucked into her chest as she desperately tried to erase the picture of the monster he had called a 'Griever' out of her mind. It simply plagued her mind at the thought of poor little Noah seeing them for the first time. He must have been so scared. He probably had nightmares for weeks, he probably cried himself to sleep night after night – and she hadn't been there for him.

As she was forming a plan how to possibly make it look unsuspicious if she went over and just started to talk to Noah, the leader Alby walked up to her with a prominent scowl on his serious features.

"Nice shiner you gave Newt, there Greenie. You're lucky I won't throw you in the slammer… under his request." He crossed his arms when he felt like he was close enough. She scrambled to stand, crossing her own arms. "If it was me, you'd be in the slammer."

Her eyes narrowed. This guy was making it hard for her to respect him as a leader.

"I didn't mean to hurt Newt."

He pursed his lips, slightly backing down from the degrading look he was giving her. His eyes flashed down. "I know, he told me the story. Do it again Greenie and I'll have you locked up."

She nodded, feeling extremely uncomfortable around the infamous leader. There was something about him that screamed he didn't trust her, nor did he act like he wanted her around in his precious Glade. She didn't blame him – she didn't want to be here either.

All she wanted was to collect Noah and jet.

"Alright then, let's get you off to breakfast and set you up with Winston at the Bloodhouse."

He started to walk away, and she had to jog to catch up with him. He was much shorter than Newt, yet his walk was much more brisk. She supposed he didn't have a limp to his step.

"Excuse me?" She asked, uncertain about a house that was referred to as a 'Bloodhouse'.

He didn't answer, and it was all beginning to be a bit much – the silence around this place was deafening. No one uttered a word to her since she had arrived, other than the two 'leaders'. And they weren't very helpful. Actually, they weren't helpful at all. She detested Alby, and Newt had managed to get her in trouble already. A normal person would have reacted the same way if they were woken up in a strange place with strange people. It was common sense.

Or at least she thought it should be common sense.

She doubted any other 'Greenie' had responded to being woke up like she had, with the precautions they were taking by threatening to throw her in the 'slammer'. Her head spun with the different words that she still didn't exactly understand. She wasn't sure she wanted to understand.

"Sit," Alby instructed as he came to a table where Newt sat with an icepack pressed to his cheekbone. She grimaced and looked down at the work boots that were weighing her down. She obeyed, sitting down, avoiding looking at the blonde headed boy. She could feel his eyes piercing through her, and oddly she felt ashamed.

Looking at the wooden table, she was slightly startled when a view of a hand across the table came into her vision. The hand was big, and the skin of the palm was heavily calloused, fingers long and thin. She looked up sheepishly at who the hand belonged to.

"Common then, Greenie," Newt chided, as she didn't move to grab his offered hand. She bit her lip, and slowly placed her much smaller, softer hand into his grip. She let her lips pull up as she watched him smile softly. "I'm sorry I woke you up so harshly this morning."

She scoffed, eyes flying up to meet his soft brown gaze. Her eyebrows came together as she felt her stomach flip at the underlying connection she felt. "I'm sorry I hit you."

Seemingly feeling the connection as well, Newt pulled his arm back. He smiled a genuine smile, and removed the icepack. She got a glance at where her fist had collided with his face. It wasn't as bad as she was expecting, but she still felt a pang of embarrassment.

"Woah man, nice shiner!"

Newt turned his head quickly to the Asian boy, with his pack strapped around his back. He turned back to Emily, smiling and rolling his eyes. She looked down and he mentally cursed Minho – he had just started to get her to come out of her shell, and now he was back to square one. "Yeah, the Shebean has a bloody good right hook."

He stilled his motion of pouring something in his thermos. "You're shucking kidding me."

Newt shrugged, happily elating when he noticed she shyly looked towards him with his compliment towards her.

The boy looked at her accusingly then. His eyes squinted, and she internally flinched at his stare towards her. She really hadn't meant to hurt Newt, but she quickly realized that the blonde boy had quite a special place with all the boys in the Glade.

"Not a bad job, Greenie," he then smiled towards her. She decided that maybe she could like this boy. "Name's Minho."

She nodded, looking quickly between him and Newt. "Emily… or Greenie apparently."

The two boys laughed at that, and she took the moment of distraction to glance around the other boys starting to mill in, wiping their eyes away from sleep. Her eyes immediately trained to a blonde heading little boy, rubbing his eyes a little harder than the rest. She remembered that her brother always had a hard time waking up in the morning – maybe it ran in the family to not be morning people.

Because by the looks of things, and how she had corked Newt this morning, she wasn't either.

It was strange how she could remember things like that about Noah, yet she was completely in the dark about herself. How could she remember the smallest thing about him, yet be confused at even who she was. How could she remember his favorite colour, yet she didn't really remember many colours?

She felt a headache coming on.

Noah sat a few tables away from them, and she was slightly disturbed when he laughed along with all the other older, sturdier boys at the table. Her little brother was too softhearted and young to understand what those older boys were probably talking about. It broke her heart all over again that she missed so much time in his life.

"Hey Greenie," Minho snapped her attention back to them, as Alby all put threw a plate of food in her direction. When had the other boys gone to get their own plates? "Do you recognize him?"

Recognize who? The little brother she had raised since birth?

Of course she recognized him – but she was hesitant in telling the others so.

"No, I…" She trailed off, her eyes once again focusing on Noah. He was shoveling food into his mouth at the same pace as he used to. She wondered how he stayed so small and chiseled. But turning back towards the group of boys she was sitting with, she knew she had made a terrible mistake. They all looked at her accusingly, teeth clenched. "No, he's just eating really fast."

Alby scoffed, sitting down beside her. "Leave Ben alone, Greenie. We're all hungry."

_Ben_?

That wasn't _Ben_ – it was her little brother _Noah_.

"_Why do we have to change our names, sissy?" Noah sniffed, hugging her tight. He wasn't adjusting to what the man in the white lab coat was telling them, at all._

"_I don't know, Noah. But it'll all be okay. WICKED is good."_

What?

Raising her fork to her mouth, she looked nervously around but only caught eyes with Newt. The other boys were too preoccupied with their meals. He looked at her with a questioning glance, but she shrugged and went back to her own meal. None of these boys provided enough reason for her to trust them.

And she wasn't about to put Noah in danger.

…

After successfully running away from the Bloodhouse, just as Winston was about to swing the knife over a chicken's head, she sat at the edge of the forest in which the boys had called the 'Deadheads'. She sat looking at one of the huge openings in the Mazes wall.

She respected the rule of never venturing out of the walls – especially after the scare tactic that they had used on her with the revealing of the Grievers that morning. She had been quite sure that they were the most gruesome, terrifying creatures she had ever witnessed.

Not like she had any memories to go off of.

"Bloody hell," an accented voice startled her out of her musings. Emily watched as the tall boy limped his way over to where she was sitting. "I came to collect you and Winston said you ran off."

He easily sat beside her, and she had to stop herself from moving away from him. Somewhere in the back of her blurry mind, she realized she must not have let a lot of people in. Could be why she refused to buddy up with anyone – as much as she appreciated the boy sitting next to her.

She turned her gaze back to the wall, not knowing what she was particularly looking at.

"It's okay, Emily. Being a Slicer isn't for very many people."

She nodded, acknowledging that she heard him, but kept her gaze on the maze wall. She felt anxious and she couldn't place her finger on why, exactly.

Newt looked at his watch, wondering if she knew more than what she was letting on. "Did you already notice when the Runners come back?"

She turned her head, looking at him with confusion clear across her features. "Runners?"

As if the Keeper of the Runners had heard her himself, he came trotting through the opening of the maze, a blonde boy coming to a gradual halt behind him. They both placed their hands on their knees, bending down to suck in large gulps of air.

One was the Asian boy Minho who she had met at the table earlier that day, and the other was… Noah.

She turned to Newt in a panic. "I thought no one was supposed to go out there? What about the monsters? Couldn't they get hurt?"

Newt looked at her with a little confusion, and jealousy coursed through his veins… but he didn't know why. He didn't understand where the surge of hatred came from, and quickly tried to dismiss it. "They're our Runners. They're well enough experienced."

He watched her look on in horror as Minho and Ben made their way to the Mapping Room, quite visibly distraught. He made himself believe that she was just scared of the Grievers – yet he knew there was something very odd about this Greenie.

Other than she was a girl, of course.

Emily felt her heart leap out of her chest, pounding furiously. How could he say they were experienced? Her brother was barely fourteen. "Who are they?"

Newt looked at her with a puzzling look. "Runners – they run and map the Maze. They try to find a way out of this shucking place."

She gulped.

Newt noticed her struggle, but unsure why it was bothering her. "Why? Do you remember something, Emily?"

She masked her surprise at his question. The last thing she wanted was for this boy to start getting suspicious of her. The one boy in the forsaken place that she didn't mind sharing company with – who just happened to be the second most important boy in the whole Glade. If he started to become suspicious of her, then things would go very bad very fast.

"No," she finalized. She adverted her eyes away from the small hut she had just watched her brother disappear in. And thankfully Newt didn't realize her sudden fascination in pulling up blades of grass from the ground. "I don't remember anything."

**TBC**

**To sum up - Emily's brother is Ben! I just hated the way a character who had so much potential was killed off far too soon. I hope you have all enjoyed this story, and please leave your comments in a review. Feel free to tell me exactly what is on your mind!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: So I have decided to jump ahead a little bit, because I really don't want this story to be a typical MarySue fiction. I just hope that I did so without disappointing you guys. I don't really have much to say this time around… so I hope you all enjoy!**

**arrowprincess12 - Thank you! I thought about it for awhile, and having Ben be Noah seemed like a perfect fit. I'm definitely leaning more towards the book, with a few things added from the movie to improve the plot… So keep reading to find out! Let me know what you think of this chapter! **

**Lily - I really appreciate the forwardness of your reviews! I'm glad you have so many suggestions for this story, and I'm definitely taking them into consideration. For the kiss scene, well we don't want things to progress too quickly, but I can promise you that when Thomas arrives Emily will be involved in the scene where he runs into the Maze! I love your suggestions, and let me know what you think of this chapter!**

**Taylor - Haha, yeah I had to give Emily some character - I didn't want you readers to get bored! Thank you, and I'm excited that you're excited! As for the spelling mistakes, I am totally guilty of not revising as much as I should. Please review again!**

**Chapter Three**

A few weeks had passed since Emily had first found herself looking at an odd forty set of eyes staring at her upon her arrival. And other than the crack she had given Newt on the second day of being a Greenie, her time in the Glade had gone without further complications.

Alby of course had made sure she was well suited for one of their many jobs around the Glade, and she had done exceptionally well at… well, nothing. She had killed half of Zart's plants, she had hit her thumb and another boys thumb as well with a hammer at her run to be a Builder, couldn't handle blood all that well, and basically failed miserably at everything else.

It was a lovely realization that she was useless, in their eyes.

Just a dumb 'shucking' girl is something she heard quite often around the Glade.

At the Gathering concerning where she would be spending her hours working, every one of the Keepers had insisted she be elsewhere. She had felt a little betrayed that everyone, including Newt had snickered at her incompetence.

She had consoled herself by telling herself that she just _didn't care_. She didn't care about gardening, she didn't care how they built the shack of a Homestead – and she certainly didn't care if the bathroom that forty boys used was clean or not.

She had chalked it up as just another day where she had managed to mind her own business and stay away from Noah.

That is, until Alby had other plans.

Apparently the task of washing clothes was becoming a tad bit problematic for the busy Gladers who actually had excelled in one of the stupid jobs around the place. And normally it was a Slobbers task – which she apparently hadn't qualified for either.

So now, she sat at the edge of the Deadheads, which she kept glancing over at because she had all intentions of exploring, with a young boy named Chuck. Washing clothes. Everyday.

At first she had wanted to run out of the Maze and face those monsters they called Grievers. There was no way she was going to sit here, on an uncomfortable stool and wash clothes all day with a young boy who couldn't stop talking for five minutes. She had wished that Alby had woken her up that morning, and not Newt – because all of this was his idea.

Now, a few weeks into washing stinky, dirty clothes all day… she was grateful she had been placed where she had been. After getting over the fact that they had stuck the only girl doing woman dominate chores, she calmed down a bit. She realized that Chuck, while he still didn't leave much silence, was a good kid. He tried to see the bright side of things, and Emily admired the kid a bit for it.

They had a system – her and Chuck. They sat on stools with a large tub of water in front of her, a crooked table with soap and a roller sitting on it in front of Chuck. She would take the dirty clothes, and scrub them with the little soap they had. She would then hand them over to Chuck, and he would run them threw the roller, and then hang them over the long racks the builders had constructed for them.

It was a good system.

Maybe it wasn't the best job, and she didn't have any privileges that the high-end boys had, but she was content. It was almost therapeutic, doing the same mindless task day in and day out. It was in no means physically tiring – sure her arms hurt at first but now she was used to it.

And Chuck was good company. He didn't have many friends, so he tagged along with Emily wherever she went. At first she had been annoyed, quite frankly. But now she found it sweet. He had told her that if he still had a mother out there, that he wanted her to be like Emily. It had melted her heart and she immediately decided to bring the young boy under her wing. She always did have a motherly instinct – and if she couldn't comfort Noah, then she had to pass the feeling onto Chuck. And where Chuck wasn't Noah, it helped her aching heart just a little.

Another reason she liked her new job, is she sat close enough to the West doors of the Maze to monitor when Noah… or _Ben_ left and came back from running. She wasn't impressed that her little brother seemed to have the most dangerous job in the Glade, but it made her feel better that she could watch when he went and came.

Chuck was so busy talking he never noticed when she would stare longingly at Noah, missing him.

Again, it was a good system.

Looking at the sun in the sky, she smiled contently as she realized it must soon be time for Newt to stop by.

He had proved her first impression and quickly became the boy Emily looked forward to seeing, besides Chuck. He made it a habit to stop by a few minutes before dinner would begin in the evening, and help them- out.

Since both her and Chuck lacked in the strength category, Newt would stop by and dump the dirty wash water for her in the forest of the Deadheads. He would help her fill it back up, and set up for the next day of washing. She assured him he really didn't have to, but in his words he had said 'I'm not bloody letting you carry that around'.

She appreciated the gesture more than he would ever understand.

He would grin in that charming way of his, and make jokes about how his clothes better be the cleanest in the whole Glade. Emily responded by taking extra care whenever she found herself pulling the familiar clothes into the washtub. She even went as far as making sure they were folded neatly and sitting in his hammock by the end of the week.

Of course, even though the gestures made by the pair were small, they hadn't gone unnoticed. Many of the boys complained that they had to walk to the edge of the Deadheads to retreat their own clothes. Alby even gave his best friend curious and suspicious looks when they managed to sit together during meals – which was almost never.

Newt sat with most of the Keepers, and Alby. He usually made effort to accommodate her, but wasn't always able to seat Chuck as well. The older boys didn't have time for the younger boy who liked to talk too much, and were quite rude to him as well. She would never put Chuck through that intentionally – so the only time they got to sit together was when they were rather early or really late.

Even though they went to dinner together everyday.

She didn't think too much of it. She didn't need to sit with Newt to know they had a beginning of a wonderful friendship. Plus, sitting with Chuck was sometimes much more appealing. Newt looked at her a certain way that made her cheeks flush with heat, and it usually ended in her stomach being so uneasy that she couldn't enjoy her meal.

"Hey little mate," Newt called, making his way over with his limp quite noticeable as he greeted Chuck. The younger boy brightened as he looked up from rolling out some well-worn brown pants. Emily watched in adoration – Newt was exceptionally kind to Chuck. She realized that Newt must notice the boy went through quite a bit of bullying with all the much older boys.

"Hey Newt!" Chuck replied excitedly, as if talking to the second in command was truly a privilege that he got starry eyed about every single day.

Newt locked eyes with her then, like he did every day. He smiled; as she pulled out the last piece of clothing she would have to wash for that day. "How's our wee girl today, then?"

Emily smiled back, handing the soaked shirt to Chuck to roll out. "I'm great, how are you?"

She watched as he lifted the washtub in his arms, and marveled like she did everyday. He was so slim; his strength surprised her. Especially with his prominent limp in his leg. She sometimes worried that he was going to hurt himself, but she never spoke up about it. Whatever had happened to his leg was none of her business – besides, he probably didn't even remember it. It had probably happened back before the Glade.

As he dumped the water Chuck hung the shirt up to dry. It was a constant comfortable temperature in the Glade all the time, so all the clothes would be dried overnight. She was confused over that slightly… she remembered seasons but didn't know any other season than whatever they were lingering in constantly here.

"Good that. I'm starving."

Emily didn't hear the response though as she watched Minho and Noah come to a halt at the edge of the Walls like they did everyday to catch their breaths. Usually she would look away and continue her conversation with Newt. But today she found it hard to look away.

Her brother had on an exceptionally dirty shirt, almost as if he had fell. And looking closely she could see the skinned up elbow that he was adorning. Her heart jumped in her throat, having to resist running over there to make sure he was okay.

Newt sitting the empty washtub back in front of her with raised eyebrows snapped her out of it, and made her jump. She looked at him sheepishly. "Sorry, the blonde hair boy has blood on him."

Newt looked to where she was looking at the Keeper of the Runners and Ben. He nodded, accepting the fact that she was easily upset over the sight of blood. "He'll be okay, the Medjacks will look at him later."

She nodded, feeling oddly numb that Newt had comforted her so easily.

Standing up again, she smiled as she grabbed her bucket and passed one over to Newt and Chuck. They had figured out that three bucketful's of water filled the washtub, and made no time in walking over to the small shack that held the outside tap the Gladers used to bathe.

"Do you know what's for dinner tonight, Newt?" Chuck asked merrily, and nodded when Newt shook his head no. "It'll be good. Frypan makes amazing food."

Emily had to agree with the kid. Mealtimes were never disappointing – even when Frypan didn't have many supplies to work from. Washing clothes all day worked up quite an appetite and whenever a mealtime rolled around she could feel her stomach growl in anticipation.

Chuck disappeared around the building to collect his water, and her and Newt leaned up against the wooden shack like they always did. Now was their time to really find out how each other's days with without the prying ears of a much younger boy who liked to talk.

"So how are you?" Newt asked, looking over to her. She tucked a strand of her curly blonde hair away from her face. He watched her and she could feel her face becoming bright.

"I'm good, I wonder what happened to the boy with Minho," she answered his question, trying to be clever with her words. She had never came face to face with Noah yet, so calling him by name – which wasn't even his name anymore – would throw Newt off.

Newt shrugged. "Ben? He probably just fell over while running. The Maze is awfully uneven."

Emily looked at him curiously then. There was more to his words than he was putting on, and she tried to push her thoughts of Noah aside for a moment. His eyes looked pained as he looked away from her, focusing on the grass at his feet that was growing quite long. She was about to ask what was wrong when Chuck came around the corner, his bucket full of water and sloshing around.

Newt gave her a tight smile and went to fill his bucket.

Maybe she had more to worry about than just Noah.

…

Lying in her new hammock beside Chuck, she swung herself with one foot on the ground. The hammock beside her was empty as the Keepers were having a Gathering to prepare for the new 'Greenie' to come up in the box sometime this week.

Chuck, as per usual, was striking up a conversation with himself, happy to have someone to listen to him. But she wasn't listening or putting any input in like she usually tried to do. Her mind kept returning to the flash of pain in Newt's eyes earlier that day. It broke her heart to see him like that.

He hadn't been the same after he had filled up his bucket. He was unusually broody as they filled up the washtub and made their way to dinner that evening. He didn't even try to answer all of Chuck's questions like he usually did – and it worried her. He didn't ask them to sit at the table of the Keepers, either. She wondered if she did anything wrong, but came up empty.

"Hey Chuck?" She asked as he took a breath.

He looked over at her with a little confusion in his eyes. He got quiet then, and her heart melted as she realized that he thought she was going to tell him to be quiet. She would never do such a thing to the boy; she loved him like an honorary brother. "Yeah?"

"Did you notice how Newt was kind of quiet today?"

Chuck smiled at her with a large grin across his features. The boy usually tried to pry answers out of her about Newt, but she would just roll her eyes and laugh at him. It was definitely different for her to be asking him questions.

"Yeah I noticed." She looked over at him, the one time she asked him a question he decided to clam up? Something wasn't right here.

"Do you know why?"

Chuck sighed, surprising her at his sudden wisdom for his age. "Newt doesn't like talking about the Maze. And when you asked what happened to Ben he got quiet."

She looked up at the sky. It was just a blank canvass of darkness – and she wondered if that's how it looked like outside of the Glade as well. Pondering exactly why Newt didn't like talking about the Maze, she came up blank. Sure, they were all in a particularly negative situation, but talking about the Maze didn't seem to upset anyone as much as it had with Newt. As much time as they spent together now, they didn't talk about serious things. Their conversations mostly consisted of how they were doing that day, and how their jobs had gone.

"Why?"

Chuck looked up at the sky as well. "Newt used to be a Runner."

Her heart clenched in her chest. Noah was a Runner.

She looked over at Chuck, and he avoided her gaze. It wasn't normal, and she wondered what was going on in the boys mind. The boy had only been here one or two months ahead of her, but obviously he knew something that she didn't. "Chuck?"

He looked a little torn, and finally gazed at her. "Newt told me to promise not to tell you."

Her eyebrows crunched together. What could have happened that she wasn't allowed to know? As much as she didn't want it to, it sent a pang of hurt coursing through her veins.

She looked down, and Chuck noticed she looked crestfallen. Emily was so good to him that he knew he couldn't keep anything from her, even if he respected Newt to an upmost standard. "Okay Em, just don't tell him, okay?"

She nodded, but still looked a little hurt.

"When he was a Runner he got really hurt in the Maze, that's why he has a limp. Alby found him and pulled him back in the Glade right before the doors closed. He almost died in there. I overheard the conversation once."

Emily's eyes widened, hands coming to her chest as she pictured Newt helplessly in pain, waiting for the Grievers to come and snatch him away. She pictured the panic and emotion that he must have been plagued with while stuck there. She wondered about how much pain he had experienced as he tried to get back on his feet after the accident.

Alby had saved Newt… and suddenly her perspective on the leader of the Glade changed drastically.

"That's awful, Chuck."

"Yeah, it is," he agreed, nodding. Obviously he had thought of something clever because his eyes lit up drastically. "And I think another reason he was quiet was because he was jealous of you staring at Minho and Ben!"

The boy laughed with a chuckle that she was scared he was going to wake up the other group of boys that were only a few feet away. She was certainly not looking at Minho… she was looking and worrying about her brother. But she supposed she couldn't tell him that, so she had nothing to say to defend herself.

Trying to hush him only made him louder, but was quickly cut off with a strong accented voice.

"Chuck I can hear you clear across the Glade," Newt shook his head, but had to hide the little smirk that was forming on his face as he walked through the long grass towards the three hanging hammocks. "What are you shucking laughing about?"

She watched as Chuck put a hand over his mouth, and tried to get himself under control. It was actually an amusing scene to watch unfold, and maybe she would have enjoyed it if she wasn't thinking about Newt being a Runner, and how close he came to not being around anymore. The thought that Noah was out there doing the same thing now terrified her, but the fact that Newt had once done the same thing scared her almost as much.

"Nothing Newt, sorry. I'm going to sleep!" He pulled his sleeping bag up over his head and Emily shook her head jokingly at the young boy. Sometimes, like now, she realized that Chuck was much too young to be stuck in the Glade with the hardships they were forced to deal with.

Noah was much too young, too. But Chuck was even younger.

"Hey, how's our wee girl now?" Newt asked in a considerably better mood than he had been earlier that evening. She smiled at her nickname he had given her – it was so unique and rolled off his tongue incredibly smooth with his accent.

"I'm good, how are you?"

He plopped down into his hammock, getting comfortable quickly. She couldn't help but notice that he favored his right leg as leaned back, rolling his neck around as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. She supposed he did have a considerable amount of weight on his shoulders, though.

He sighed, closing his eyes. "Much better now."

She watched him in the darkness, forcing her eyes to adjust to see him. He finally looked peaceful, and she was thankful for that. The look on his face before dinner had almost crushed her.

She stuck out her hand towards him, and felt the air hit her arm. "Hey Newt?"

He opened his eyes and looked over at her. As he noticed her arm extended to him he squinted his brows together. She was slightly embarrassed by his reaction, but kept her much shorter arm extended, hand reaching towards him. She gave him a smile and he gave her one back, slowly clasping his much larger hand over hers.

"Goodnight, Newt." She said, slowly retracting her arm, watching as he did as well. He closed his eyes with a small smile on his lips.

She shivered, and not because it was cold out – the weather never changed here.

**TBC**

**A little bit of feelings happening around the Glade between Emily and Newt, huh? I just love Chuck, and I couldn't help but add him into the story for some comic relief. Please let me know what you think in a review, and feel free to leave comments, suggestions and whatever is on your mind!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Just a little bit of excitement happens in this chapter! I promise things will start to pick up now that we have the filler chapters done, and you'll all shortly figure out what happens! Thanks for reviewing everyone - means a lot and reviews make writing a lot more enjoyable!**

**arrowprincess12 - Thank you! I love them both too, I'm glad you do too. Let me know what you think of this chapter :)**

**Jeffrey Dahmer - I laughed so hard at your review, ha! A-MAZE-ing, it just killed me. Thanks so much, and I hope you enjoy this next chapter! Let me know what you think!**

**Taylor - I can't even right now, ha. You'll just have to wait and see what happens! Let me know what you think about this chapter, and enjoy. **

**StarRunner1 - Since you reviewed for chapter two, and I'm just seeing it I'll leave you a note here! I wish I could answer those questions, but I don't want to ruin the story for you ;) Let me know what you think of this next chapter!**

**Chapter Four**

"_You lied to me. You lied to me so you could have more kids in this horrible trial!" Emily seethed, staring wildly at the woman with her silver hair pulled up into a tight knot. Had there not been half a dozen guards standing around, she wouldn't be held responsible for her actions. "I'm not signing anything until I can see him."_

_The older woman sighed, sitting down the paper she held out to Emily. A look of defeat etched in the lines of her face. "The trials, Miss, are not horrible. They're the only way to solve a cure; if you take him and leave you will be no further ahead."_

_Of course, Emily realized this. That is why she had immediately brought her younger brother here in the first place. She resorted to the last possible solution that there was to offer – she couldn't watch her baby brother be exposed to what the world was now facing. She couldn't, and she wouldn't. _

"_I'm not signing anything until I have a deal." _

_The older lady ran her hand over her face. Emily balled her hands into fists, and started to slowly tap her right fist off her thigh. She was so angry that she couldn't keep still. This woman was trying to tell her that it could be years before she saw Noah again… and she was not taking the bait. She was the legal guardian of Noah, and without her consent WICKED would have one less variable. _

"_Okay," she said, looking at Emily directly in the eye. She stood from her seat behind her desk, heels clacking on the marble floor as she perched herself easily on the desk on front of the young girl. "I'll promise you can see Noah again – but I can not promise the length in time when you will see him again." _

_Her fist hitting off her leg became heavier, more constant. _

_She nodded, taking the pen that was outstretched to her. She watched as the older ladies eyes glistened in excitement as she signed her name. There was no turning back now. She had signed both her and Noah's lives away to a lady who seemed nothing less than brilliant. _

_Her fist beat off her leg in a steady rhythm, but it was starting to hurt._

She awoke with a start, noticing that her thigh was being hit. She gasped and looked over to Chuck, who still slept soundly under his blanket, and she smiled for a moment. The boy was quite cute – it reminded her of all the times she would stay awake until Noah drifted off.

_Whack._

She whirled around to look at the boy on the left side of her, and narrowed her eyes when she realized who the culprit was. Leg outstretched in her direction, Newt swung himself back and forth, each time his foot thumping on her leg. Her look was returned with a grin, letting her know that he was rather proud of himself.

"Well I wasn't about to get decked again, now was I?" He whispered, and through her annoyance she gave him a small smile. It was definitely not time to wake up yet, looking at the darkness that still surrounded them.

Usually by the time the sun woke her up Newt was gone, but she didn't question him. She figured that as second in command he had his own duties that needed to be fulfilled. And by the time she actually succeeded in waking Chuck, her last thought was usually the boy with disheveled blonde hair.

"I guess not," she replied, lying back down. There had been very few mornings that she had woken before the sun came up, and she wasn't fond of losing the few hours of sleep she managed to get.

They ran a tight ship around here.

"Common then," Newt said, standing up from his own hammock and straightening out his clothes. Emily stared, realizing that he was quite handsome. She tried to dismiss the uneasy feeling she was suddenly given, her stomach making flops all around. She had never been around any other boys, other than her brother and occasionally one of his little friends. But never one who looked to be about her own age – whatever that age was. "Up you go."

She looked at his outstretched hand with still narrowed eyes. The last time he had woken her up early he had scared the wits out of her, showing her the Grievers. She had been here less than a month, but she had fully understood the rules of the Glade. She didn't need another reminder.

"Why?"

She watched him smirk; the one where she was vaguely sure he knew drove her senses into overload. If the boy in front of her didn't already know the effect he had on her, then he was blind. As much as she tried to hide it, Chuck usually pointed out that her cheeks were turning a bright shade of scarlet every time the second in command boy was around.

"I want to show you something," he said, and realizing her widened eyes at the fear that she would have to experience the Grievers again, he shook his head. "It's nothing bad. It's beautiful – but you have to hurry or we'll miss it."

Raising her eyebrows she let his hand take hers, pulling her safely out of her hammock. She dropped his hand and fixed her clothes, running her hands through her wild curls. Funny enough they were silky, not fuzzy and unkempt like little Chuck's were.

She followed beside him as he walked to the middle of the Glade, pushing the long grass out of their way as they reached a spot where he seemed satisfied. He plopped down gingerly, favoring his leg that seemed to give him problems. Emily looked at him, sitting beside him in the tall grass.

"So what are we doing here?" She asked, watching as he lay down, head resting on his hands behind his head. He looked up at the sky, and then to her. His dark eyes shone as he gave her a little nod and a smile.

"Just lay down and watch."

So she did, mimicking his stance quietly, not asking any more questions.

She could hear their uneven breaths, the tall grass swallowing them into the green of the Glade. When she wasn't focused on washing dirty clothes all day, and could stop her mind from wandering off to the days she used to share with Noah – she would almost call this place beautiful.

Besides the colourless stonewalls that surrounded them the Glade was bursting with colour. Mostly different shades of green, but Emily liked it. She liked the earthy feel the place gave off, the way that they were sustaining themselves completely with little to no help from anyone else. It was amazing that a bunch of kids, really, could be so productive.

Newt looked at his watch and smiled. He told her once that it was a privilege to own a watch, and he must thought she assumed it was because he was second in command. She didn't tell him that Chuck had told her that he once had been a Runner – and only Runners had watches.

"A few more seconds," he said, watching the sky. And then as if the sun had heard him, it popped over the side of the maze with an upmost amazing view. It immediately warmed her, and she watched as it blanketed the entire Glade slowly, but surely. "Ah, there it is."

She turned to look at his face, his hair shining golden with the early morning rays. He looked up at the sky with a content look on his face – almost as if he was fully at peace with everything in the entire world. Almost as if the Grievers didn't exist, and that they weren't trapped inside some sort of gigantic Maze.

His brown eyes turned to liquid as he turned to look at her as well.

She was memorized.

The Maze walls screeched open, and he looked away, sitting up. The moment was broken, and she had to wonder if there was even a moment. She had to remember that she had a secret, and getting too close to the second in command boy could only result in disaster.

"That's our queue," he sighed, standing and reaching a hand down to her.

She smiled, and stood without his help. She couldn't help but notice the little look of hurt that flashed through his eyes, but she made herself ignore the pang in her chest, knowing that she caused it. She had to force herself from getting too close.

She gave him a small smile and headed off in the direction of their hammocks, and he branched off towards the Homestead.

Only when she was waking Chuck up did she let herself forget about the feelings Newt surfaced in her.

…

"Chuck," she cut off his poor singing that she had grown to adore later that day. "I have a question."

He nodded, and she chose her words wisely.

"They boy who runs with Minho," she said slowly, trying to gauge his reaction. So far he was just looking at her with childlike innocence. "Do you know him?

It had been almost four weeks since she had arrived, and everyone was talking about the new Greenie who would show up sometime shortly. They all whispered when she was around, but the most of their conversations were surrounded with the question if it would be another girl or not.

She didn't know, or care really, if it was going to be another girl or not. She could only focus on one thing, and that was that she still hadn't successfully spoke to Noah since she's been here, in a month.

"Ben?" Chuck asked, and when Emily made no movement he continued. "Not really, I know of him but he's a Runner. They don't sit or talk to the Sloppers."

This bothered her more than she could show to Chuck. She had raised her brother to treat everyone like an equal – the way she treated everyone. To her, Chuck was just as important as Alby.

"Oh."

After rolling out a shirt, Chuck started again. "Why?"

Chuck was the closest boy to her in the Glade – the one boy where she felt completely comfortable around, and could say or do anything without embarrassment. Minho was far too sarcastic, and Newt made her stomach feel like it had fighter jets soaring around in there.

But she still couldn't tell Chuck about Noah… could she?

"You know how you want to find your mother again, Chuck?" She asked slowly, trying to gauge his expression. "I want to find my brother."

The younger boy nodded, surprisingly quiet for a moment – it was sad. The way that Chuck spent all day and night dreaming about the mother that none of them knew existed or not anymore, it was sad. It was beyond sad that Emily had to try and think if she had any parents of her own. She had raised Noah, so she doubted it. But that didn't mean she couldn't hope.

"So you know you had a brother?" He asked, eyes turning up to look at her.

She looked at Chuck then, really looked. His curly mob of hair danced in his movements, and his pudgy face reflected truly with whatever emotion he felt – that of which happened to all young kids. His lips pursed up and down trying to keep quiet, and even though Emily was beginning to weaken her resolve about the whole Glade situation, she knew she couldn't tell him.

It would destroy him if he knew that she had a brother here, and he couldn't even remember his parents' faces.

"No," she finished, passing over another article of clothing to him. "But I think I did. I think I do."

He went on a triad about how he imagined his parents looked, and figured he also had a brother. He said he wanted to be the oldest, though, because he wanted to protect his younger brother or sister, and she swore that her heart was going to fall out of her chest.

Suddenly, she needed to get away.

"I forgot," she said, trying to slow down her erratic breaths. "I, uh…"

As she stumbled off the stool, leaning over the washtub with her hands on either side. It was as if suddenly the air had been sucked out of her lungs. Her vision became blurry and all she could see was pictures flashing before her eyes.

_She was standing behind glass doors, hands pressed against the cool surface. She felt faint, watching the men in white coats showing her brother a puzzle. He immediately knew the answer, and they gave him another one. _

_This was the first time she had saw her brother since she had signed the paper that gave both their lives away to WICKED. She had stumbled out of her room, with only a hospital gown thrown over her body. She was weak; she could feel the drugs they had given her to calm down run through her system at an undeniable force. _

_The place was cold with artificial lights, giving everything around her an odd blue glow. Her breathing erratic, she could hear nothing but the furious pumps of her heart. _

_It was a rather strange experience – she was screaming but she couldn't hear herself. She wondered if she was going mad, if this was all some sort of disarranged dream; nightmare. But Noah heard her; he heard the crashing of glass as she pounded on it with both fists. _

_The sharp shards flew all around her, and poked at her bare skin. There were guards on her then, so many of them. They each took a limb and pulled with force, destructing her view of her brother. _

_She still heard nothing._

_She could feel the strain in her throat as she called bloody Mary, called for all this madness to come to an end. But as the guards were carrying away her withering form she caught a look at Noah's eyes. They were confused, and there was no recognition in them. _

_He didn't know who she was._

_She didn't want to play these games anymore._

"Hey," Newt called, bringing her into his lap. When had he gotten there? He cradled her limp form in his arms, a look of pure confusion and worry settling over his beautiful face. "Common Emily."

She could hear Chuck starting to screech her name, could feel Newt's cold hands on her face. But as her eyes rolled into the back of her head, she succumbed to the darkness.

…

She woke with a start, breathing in the air in large gulps that she felt like she had been deprived of since Chuck had been talking about his family back when they were washing clothes. Almost as soon as she opened her eyes and looked around Newt was clutching her head.

"Bloody Christ Emily," he sounded exhausted. She let him easily lay her head back down on the pillow, noticing from the ceiling that they must have put her in the Homestead. "Don't ever scare me like that again."

He looked down at her face, and she took in his dark irises, the white of his eyes far past bloodshot. His hair was ruffled, and there seemed to be permanent worry lines at the corners of his eyes. She gulped; she had never been this close to anyone besides Noah before.

He looked genuinely worried about her, and she brought a cold hand up to his cheek. She placed it on his fiery skin, to which he leaned in to. His eyes closed and he sighed dropping his head the slightest, grabbing the hand on his face with his much larger one.

"I thought you died."

She let the corners of her lips pull up despite the seriousness of the situation. She wasn't sure what had made her pass out – wasn't sure what had triggered the flash of pictures across her eyes. She had thought about Noah before, many times.

She moved her hand and moved her other arm around his neck. He stood back slightly, but she didn't let go. Something about having her arms around another person was so much comfort that she couldn't will herself to let go. She was relieved when he sat on the bed, pulling her to him.

Sitting with her head tucked into Newt's neck, she almost forgot why she had passed out in the first place.

Chuck talking about protecting the siblings that didn't exist – that had been it. And when she thought about it again her stomach churned as she thought of the images she had saw of herself. She had been sickly thin, blonde hair hanging in clumps over her shoulder. She shuddered, to which Newt pulled her closer.

"What happened, love?"

She didn't want to speak; she could still feel the strain in her throat from the surreal flashback she had experienced, even if she really hadn't been yelling. Her body hurt, and as she looked down at her fists, the scars suddenly made sense.

It was almost as if she could feel the glass hitting her body again.

Looking up with strangled feeling, she caught Newt's gaze. His brown gaze that could somehow make even the gravest situations a little better.

But not this one.

This was her own battle that she realized she would have to fight on her own.

Placing her head back in the crook of his neck, she let the tears that were brimming her eyes fall over for the first time since she entered the Glade. It didn't take her long to let the pent up frustrations and guilt wash over, bringing sobs with them. Long, painfully loud sobs surrounded the air around them.

She could feel Newt hushing her, rubbing soothing circles on her back. And even though the blonde headed boy was of great comfort to her, he couldn't change the mistake she had made.

She had signed Noah over to WICKED.

**TBC**

**So, yeah, a 'lil bit of drama going on! Pretty obvious that Emily and Newt have something special, but I know we're all waiting to see what happens with Ben/Noah! Hope you all enjoyed, and please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: This is my second time writing this darned note, seeing as it refused to save. I didn't even have anything to say here, I usually just ramble anyways, and it's not like anyone reads it. Or, at least when I'm reading fanfiction, I don't. But, yeah, this chapter is a little late and I apologize... sorry for the little rant boys and girls.**

**JinLing - Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and let me know what you think about it!**

**Jeffrey Dahmer - I'm so glad that you're enjoying this story a lot, and I hope that this chapter live up to your expectations. Something may happen in this chapter that you'll appreciate *sly grin*. Let me know what you think!**

**StarRunner1 - I'm so glad I can get that kind of emotion out of my readers! Thank you, I think it is very important to get the characters just right, and I work hard on that. Let me know what you think, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Chapter Five**

"I'm not sure about her," Alby confronted Newt the next morning as he watched his second in command and best friend stumble out of the room that the girl was put into. He watched helplessly as the closest person to him succumbed to the depth of the girl – Emily. He noticed that Newt went to visit her everyday at dinner time, and even stuck his hammock by her; which was uncalled for seeing as he had a room in the Homestead.

He hadn't said anything until now.

He and Minho stood just outside the Homestead door, Alby with his arms crossed over his chest and Minho's hands hanging off the straps of his pack. It was still early morning; too early for most of the Gladers to be awake yet. He could see Gally coming towards them, and sucked in a breath. This was going to be an uncomfortable meeting.

In the mornings a few times a month, usually when the Greenie was close to coming, the four of them would meet up and talk about how things were going on in the Glade. But today, Alby knew, would be unpleasant.

"What?" Newt asked, scowl on his face. Gally hadn't even made it over to their conversation yet and it was already on its way to disaster.

Minho looked down at his running shoes. He was guilty as charged for liking Emily – just not as much as Newt did. It was obvious to every Glader around that no one liked Emily quite as much as Newt did – and if they did they didn't dare bring it up around one of the longest staying boys.

Gally made his way to the group of three, and crossed his arms, eyebrows rising. By the incredulous look on Newt's face this wasn't going to be an easy meeting.

"Did Clint or Jeff figure out why she suddenly passed out? Or do you want to enlighten us, seeing as you spent all night with her?" Alby asked, and both Minho and Gally sucked in audible breaths of air. Not too often their leader lost his cool, but it was seemingly going in that direction. What was even more surprising it was at Newt – the one boy that Alby never questioned.

Newt looked between the three boys, putting a hand on his chin. Sure, he had been spending some time with Emily, and he had grown extremely worried about her since yesterday afternoon… but he hadn't thought anyone had noticed. "Go on up and ask her yourself."

Gally scoffed and Minho's eyebrows shot up.

Surprisingly, Alby grinned. "There he is."

To this, Newt scoffed himself. He knew that he was the only one who could get away with talking like this to Alby, and they even went as far as considering themselves best friends.

"So," Alby continued, grabbing a hold of Newt's shoulder in truce. "I'd appreciate if you'd keep an eye on her, Newt. The new Greenie comes up today, and I'll have to show the shank around."

Gally snorted. The boys knew that he wasn't a fan of new comers, often giving them a hard time. But it was odd, he stayed as far away from Emily as he physically could – Newt didn't complain, that guy was a little off his rocker. There was something about the Keeper of the Builders that no one could put their finger on; something different.

"Just throw the shank in the slammer for the night," Gally wheezed. "We have a lot of shucking things to get done if we're having the fire tonight."

Newt faintly watched Minho roll his eyes at the taller boys' antics. Even though the Keeper of the Runners was perhaps the very most important Keeper of the whole Glade, Gally sure made sure that he had his weight to pull around on the other Gladers because he had shown up in the box after Newt had. Even Newt himself had to refrain from rolling his eyes.

Alby sighed, tightening the stance he had on his crossed arms. "You were a Greenie before too, Gally. Remember how you felt."

Gally scoffed once again at their leader. "I've got work to do. This over?"

Newt nodded his head, and the much larger boy stalked off. Sometimes he was too much to handle. As he walked off, the Maze walls screeched, letting them all know that the walls were moving into the open position.

Minho nodded, "Well boys, it's about time someone finds a way out of this shuck place."

Newt had to smile at the Keeper's comment – unlike Gally, Minho was never threatening with the remarks he made. Of course, they were cocky and annoying, but never threatening or mean. Newt and Alby watched as he stocked off, greeting Ben as they took off across the Glade to the Mazes' open walls.

The pair silently watched as all of the eight Runners took off at a quickened pace at the four openings in the walls. Newt couldn't help but feel ashamed as he remembered the time that he had been one of the eight.

Alby, noticing Newt's discomfort turned to him. "Right. Keep an eye on the girl today, then. Don't worry about the new Greenie, I'll handle it."

Newt dropped the hand from his chin and nodded, not impressed that Alby was telling him to not have a part in the new Greenie. Although he was grateful that he was the one who was chosen to sit with Emily, he knew someone else who was dying to see her.

Since Emily had been whisked away after fainting, Chuck had been asking everyone around the Glade who would listen to him about Emily. It was a sin, how attached the boy had become to her – and Newt couldn't bear to let the boy go through anymore agony.

"How about we let Chuck sit with her today, Alby?" Newt asked, crossing his arms again, hand coming to rest on his chin. He realized that it had become quite the habit. "The poor kid is soon going to bust if we don't let him see her."

Alby looked surprised for a minute, but then nodded his head. He wasn't sure why Newt particularly liked dealing with the Greenies, but he wasn't about to complain. They all gave Alby headaches. "That sounds like a good plan; can't have him sitting around all day. You go on and tell him – I have to start planning this shucking fire."

Newt chuckled, placing his hands on his hips. Sometimes Alby bit off more than he could chew, and it was amusing to watch unfold. The second in command helped the leader as much as he could, and he quite enjoyed meeting the Greenies when they first came out of the box. It was a scary point in their new lives as a Glader, and Newt knew that he was a lot more calming than the tight lipped leader was.

"Looking forward to it," Newt smirked as he made his way off to find Chuck, who without a doubt was still sleeping without Emily to wake him.

…

Chuck flung himself at Emily's cot as soon as Newt led him up the stairs and through the doors of the Medjack room. Newt had to all but run to keep up with the younger boy as soon as he mentioned that he would be sitting with Emily today. It brought a smile to his face – and he was almost positive that it would help for Emily to keep company with the younger boy.

As much as he hated to admit it, he still felt like Emily was holding something back from him – and it kind of made him uncomfortable around her. Whenever he was in her presences he felt his stomach clench in tight knots, and since he had never remembered feeling like this before, he didn't know if it was a good or bad thing.

He never felt this way around any of the boys that much he knew.

"Emily what happened?" Chuck exclaimed as he pulled back, and Newt smiled at the content look that came across her face as she smiled up at him. She knew that it was because of Newt that Chuck was able to visit her.

"I've got stuff to do, but I'll be back later, alright?" Newt asked, as he realized that Emily was trying to answer all of Chuck's questions, which poured out of the curly headed boy faster than he thought possible for a human being.

Emily smiled warmly at him, and he slowly closed the door behind him as he left the room. He knew Emily was thankful that he had brought Chuck up, and he wasn't sure if he could handle another session of her crying in his neck without crying along with her himself. There had been something so raw and emotional about last night, that he felt completely drained.

Emotionally, he was usually the one in the Glade who helped out the new Greenies, tried to get them to understand that nothing would hurt them and they would figure out the answers well enough. But there was something about Emily that made him ache when she was upset.

It scared him, it really did. He had been herein the Glade for almost two years, and he had faced some pretty atrocious stuff. But as he realized that his feelings were beginning to rise for the only girl Glader, he thought facing a Griever would probably be less frightening.

…

The new Greenie was different from the most Newt had showed around. Alby had taken the time to give him the actual tour, but Newt was the one who was given the duty to stick around him. As soon as Gally had pulled him from the box he had taken off at a run, away from the crowding boys who wanted to get a glimpse.

The whole procedure was a little inhumane, Newt knew, but there was no way he was going to be able to tell the odd forty Glader that it wasn't okay to crowd around the box as the new boy came up.

After the fact that it wasn't another girl, some had stalked off to return to their work – some of them couldn't be bothered with another boy Greenie who would most likely not have much significance.

Rude, yes. Incorrect, no.

It had actually all gone without much event, and after Alby had told him it was too late for the official tour, they had taken Gally's advice and put the boy in the slammer until everyone who wasn't going to run away worked on constructing the activities for the night. It had been a pure sin, Newt had thought to just throw someone there and not give them any explanation about where he was or what this new world was like.

But Newt also had work to do, so he let it go.

Everything for the fire had gone off without a hitch – probably the first time they ever planned anything and it turned out the way it was supposed to. After taking a quick glance at the Homestead, it easily showed that it hadn't turned out half as good as it was supposed to.

He greeted Alby as he walked up to him, the pair setting off for dinner together. He looked over towards the edge of the Deadheads, and frowned when he didn't see Chuck talking Emily's ear off.

…

In the Homestead, Emily was on her feet. Chuck had rambled on and on about the fire that supposedly taking place that night. She hadn't been too excited about it, for some reason she felt like in her old life she hadn't been too much of a partier. And probably that she wouldn't be allowed to go anyways.

Granted, she did just pass out over earth shattering flashbacks that she could still see very clearly, but she felt fine now. Embarrassed about how she had cried in front of the second in command boy… actually she had cried _on _him. Her face flushed at the thought of it.

She ruffled her curls, and was satisfied that they were still smooth to the touch. She straightened out her clothes, while bending down to pull on her shoes. She was aware of Chuck watching her, but she didn't pay too much attention to it. That is, until he spoke up.

"Should you be coming out? Newt said he would be back. I can bring you back something to eat?"

Typical Chuck, and despite him being worried over her when it was unneeded, she smiled. She finished tying her boots, and then she turned to face him, standing up. She pulled the covers back up over the little cots that they had in the Medjack room – it could hardly be called comfortable. But it had done the trick, even if she was looking forward to sleeping in her own hammock tonight. "I'm fine, Chuck. Let's go, I'm starving."

He still looked apprehensive, but his stomach gave out a low growl as she mentioned food. He looked at her sheepishly, but followed as she made her way down the creaky staircase of the Homestead. There was something about this place that spooked her out – she didn't like being confined in between those walls. Even if they were walls of uneven pieces of woods slapped together and if you tried really hard you could see through the little openings that probably weren't supposed to be there.

Newt met them at the door, and he went through his own spiel about how she shouldn't be out of bed yet. She brushed both him and Chuck off as she stocked off towards Frypan's hut, but they quickly followed beside her.

That is, until Minho and Noah stalked up towards them, on their way to the map room. Minho chuckled, patting Newt on the back as he went by, and right then, even though Noah was meters in front of her, she paid attention to Newt's accent as he spoke loudly to Minho as they passed, for some reason.

But as Noah let out his own chuckle, Emily was memorized. Images flashed before her eyes, all of the little boy who she had desperately tried to reach before they sent him off to WICKED. The one who she had clung to, signing over their lives to keep him safe.

Safe from what, it was hard to say.

He was still young, it was easy to see that, but he stood much taller than she did now. He was no longer the little boy she had clung to as they went into the sterile office at WICKED. He wasn't the little boy anymore that she had raised.

He was different, and even though his blue eyes still stood out because of their vibrant colour, they now held a certain taint of darkness that Emily wasn't sure would ever disappear again. It could possibly have something to do with that he had the most dangerous and important job in the Glade.

She would be lying if she said that he didn't notice her stares at him. She could tell because he wouldn't look at her directly, and he picked at the strap that was hanging off his shoulders – but gosh she couldn't stop looking at him.

They continued walking, and where the passing had only been a few seconds in reality, it felt like it was hours.

As they got closer, Noah opened his mouth. "How does it feel to not be the Greenie anymore?"

The question was directed at her, and she knew it. She knew that up until today apparently, when the sirens screeched out across the Glade that she was no longer considered the 'Greenie'. Chuck had told her that when she came, he lost the title of Greenie as well. Chuck had raced down to investigate, only to return shortly after, disappointed that it was another boy. Chuck said the new Greenie was funny though, and he had been asked to stick around with him for awhile, until they had put him in the slammer.

She shivered, remembering her first day in the Glade.

As soon as Noah opened his mouth, she knew her little brother really had grown up since she had last seen him. His voice was deep, and wasn't the same little broken croak that she remembered he had the last time she had spoke to him.

As they passed each other officially, it was the closest she had been to her brother since she had arrived in the Glade. She itched to reach out and grab him, but she held herself from making yet another scene.

"Good, thanks Ben."

The words slipped out before her brain had time to register that she called her little brother Ben. It was odd even on her own tongue, but she couldn't help the grin that crossed her face as she finally spoke to him. Maybe it wasn't exactly having a moment of recognition, but it was something.

As she walked to rest of the way to dinner with Newt and Chuck, she couldn't help the feeling of upmost peace settle within her. Even though she had a long ways to go to getting her brother back, she had finally spoken to him.

Newt regarded her smile. "Feeling better?"

She looked up at him, a genuine smile gracing her features. She beamed up at him, and he gave a little smirk back at her. "Much."

**TBC**

**So they FINALLY connected! Yay! How do you feel about the awkwardness between Emily and Newt? I know that if I cried like that in front of a pretty boy I would feel really awkward too. Just a warning that the next chapter will be full of action, so bear with me here!**


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